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Former Lakers Star Pau Gasol Shouts Out WNBA Powerhouse For Making Finals

Former Los Angeles All-Star Pau Gasol shouts out New York Liberty for advancing to the WNBA Finals.

Eva Geitheim

Kyle Terada-Imagn Images
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Former Los Angeles Lakers Hall of Famer Pau Gasol congratulated the New York Liberty for advancing to the WNBA Finals. The Liberty defeated the two-time defending WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces in the WNBA Semifinals to claim their spot in the Finals. One year after losing to the Aces in the Finals, the Liberty have now beaten them to get another chance at winning their first championship.

The Liberty will play the winner of the Semifinals series between the Connecticut Sun and Minnesota Lynx. The Sun and Lynx play Game 5 on Tuesday, and the winner of this game will face the Liberty.

"Such an exciting series!! Congrats to NY Liberty on advancing to the WNBA finals. You are so good Sabrina Ionescu," Gasol said on X.

Ionescu played a significant role in the Liberty taking down the Aces during the semifinals. She scored over 20 points in three of the four games of the series. The three-time WNBA All-Star has averaged 18.2 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 6.2 assists throughout the 2024 regular season, finishing ninth in the league in scoring. Ionescu is averaging 20.7 points per game in the postseason, which ranks fourth in the WNBA.

Gasol, who played for the Lakers from 2008-14 and won two NBA championships with the team, attended a Liberty game earlier this season to watch Ionescu play, calling her "little sis." Ionescu has since referred to Gasol as "mi hermano."

Gasol previously won the Kobe & Gigi Bryant WNBA Advocacy Award in 2023 for his support of the WNBA. The award, named in honor of Gasol's late Lakers teammate Kobe Bryant, was won by Chris Paul in 2022.

“It is an honor to receive this distinction, which makes me especially happy because it represents two people who are and will always be in my heart,” said Pau Gasol, via WNBA.com.  “Kobe’s work, especially during his later years, to support women’s sports is an excellent example of where we must direct our efforts to ensure full equality in sports.”

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Eva Geitheim
EVA GEITHEIM

Eva graduated from UCLA in 2023 with a bachelor's degree in Communication. She has been covering college and professional sports since 2022.

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